Toronto Argonauts hope Grey Cup will banish fan apathy

Calgary Stampeders fans, from left, Anton Lewis, his wife Lynette Lewis and Connie Fekete showed the Stampeder pride while waiting for pancakes at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto on November 24, 2012.

Photograph by: Colleen De Neve
, Calgary Herald

By: Lowell Ullrich

TORONTO — They left to return home, seeking a better football life but understanding the bleakness of the landscape. They play the biggest game of their lives Sunday, knowing what really matters won’t be apparent until at least Monday.

Forget the usual babble about how one football game a year unites the country. If things really go well, the Toronto Argonauts actually may get to rejoin the rest of the CFL.

The handful of former B.C. Lions players who have come back to re-establish roots the past few years are cognizant of what a win over the Calgary Stampeders in the Grey Cup game (6:00 p.m. ET, TSN, Team 1410) will do for a team that has issues beyond halting an eight-year drought.

The sport has an established path in seven other cities, but in the one where the game will be staged for the 47th time, it remains unaccepted in some quarters.

The fact that Toronto is looking to win the Grey Cup at home for the first time since 1952 provides as much of a clue about the indifference as the fact that a local paper led Friday’s sports coverage with a story penned by Don Cherry

This past week though, the 100th Grey Cup has matched its billing, thanks in part to the combination of corporate support and influx out out-of-towners who annually make the game a spectacle.

But with commissioner Mark Cohon hinting recently that owner David Braley will sell either the Argos or Lions, something is about to change. Those who left the Lions are hoping the last game of the season is the first day of something better when the show leaves town.

“You don’t want this to be a seven-day thing. We got to win Sunday because we don’t want to wake up and just say, ‘That was a nice week,’” said defensive end Ricky Foley.

“There’s an apple tree and a bunch of apples that are sports teams. We’re one of the apples that’s still green but really wants to turn red. It just needs a little more water and nutrients.

“I’m telling you, once we blossom, and the fans take a bite, they’ll want more of those Argos apples.”

Foley and Pottinger, two of 12 Argos from the area, grew up less than an hour from the city and came back because of the Lions’ non-import depth at the time. Same for another backup, Andrew Jones, though it’s clear the forgotten offensive lineman who won a ring last year in B.C. would have received a much better shot next season with the Lions.

General manager Wally Buono confirmed a TSN report that Lions veteran Dean Valli did not have a bruised knee during the playoffs but in fact will have surgery Thursday to repair an ACL tear suffered in training camp, a move that could keep him out into next season and will have a major impact on off-season plans.

The three non-imports who returned, such as ex-B.C. backup quarterback Jarious Jackson, aren’t major planks in the Toronto platform, but are far more invested because of where they were raised and how they are being used.

Foley, whose 2010 departure caused the biggest stir when he waffled prior to signing as an Argos free agent, feels the smugness from those who look at the Argos’ habitually lagging attendance numbers is about to end. And that’s why what’s at stake is more than ownership of a tin mug for a year.

“When I was in B.C., I played special teams. To have a role here is something else. To come here and know it was the right decision is huge for me personally,” said Foley.

“We had as many players at a rally this week as we had for our Grey Cup win after ’06 in B.C. Getting here is an accomplishment, but you want to establish some momentum.”

How much of the additional 50 per cent increase of season tickets sold this season will be retained in 2013 will be determined in part by whether the gift of former Edmonton general manager Eric Tillman to the franchise — Argos quarterback Ricky Ray — can remain upright.

Similarly, Foley and the Argos’ pressure unit were last in sacks this year, suggesting Calgary quarterback Kevin Glenn has an equally good chance of capping what also would be an improbable finish this season.

But whether it is simply because there’s so many people wearing double blue it even caught the attention of Toronto coach Scott Milanovich, more seems to be at play for the Argos at this Grey Cup than home teams in past years.

They followed a familiar script on the final full practice of the year Friday, when Argos icon Mike “Pinball” Clemons — whose pre-game speech as coach was cited behind their last Grey Cup win over the Lions in 2004 — spoke to the team for more than 20 minutes at midfield. It was a talk that was equal parts religious and motivational.

“Winning the Grey Cup in Toronto is going to make the city look different at us,” said Jones.

At the very least, they actually closed down the Buffalo Bills souvenir shop outside Rogers Centre, which for the past few years served as a advertisement about everything wrong here about three-down football. There’s hope.

Online: Lions GM Wally Buono is still steaming in Toronto over the loss in the West Division final. More at The Fifth Quarter blog at provincesports.com.